40 is the new 30...

I find that the older I get, the more I appreciate being as young as I am. A contradiction in itself I know.

My friends, most in their late 20's, are, like me, looking for love. But they feel as though time is running out. It is 2am on a Saturday morning and I have just spent the past hour and a half convincing my distraught flatmate that there is nothing wrong with her, that she just hasn't found the right guy yet.

Why do we put this pressure on ourselves to 'have it all' by the time we hit 30? We expect to have got the study out of the way, got the travelling out of our system, be in a stable career, have met the love of our life, got married, and be popping out babies. That's a lot to fit in, in essentially 12 years (18-30)!

50 years ago, all we had to do was get married and have babies. But my generation, Gen Y, have put this new life-goal pressure on ourselves, and its all controlled by a ticking clock... But 50 years ago, living until you were 70 was quite an achievement. Now, it's considered the norm. We are living longer, fact

On average, women live, I believe, 7 years longer than men. My Nan says its because "women work so bloody hard all their lives dealing with men, it's our time off at the end to have a bloody rest!"

My Mum had me when she was 39. When I was younger, I didn't like that she was the oldest Mum in the playground. Now I love it. When she gives me advice, I know she is speaking from real, hardcore experience. She knows her shit. She is my best friend and my most favourite person in the world.

I think it is great that women want (and do) so much these days. I think we should continue to aim high and get everything we want (and deserve). But I also think we should give ourselves more time to do it in.

I say, 40 is the new 30. Let's embrace it.